Friday, October 22, 2004

The fire blazed weakly on the hearth.I am nearly finished the slightly wine stained book, see earlier post, and I came across this sentence. Maybe my understanding of the words is wrong, but I would have thought a fire is weak or it blazes, but not both at the same time.

Totally broke my concentration, just like a badly placed ad on tv, and aren't they nearly all badly placed.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Although I drive and have a car, if going to the local shops, Prahran, I prefer to take the tram or bus. A couple of days ago I boarded the bus and there was only one passenger, acting oddly and confronting the driver. Passenger said to driver that he would kill him. Driver said get off the bus. Passenger got off the bus.

If you are doing an office job, this sort of situation is probably not something you ever have to deal with. But do spare a thought for those people who do. Cops, nurses, of course public transport workers, taxi drivers, even supermarket workers. I was in Safeway in Balaclava once when because of difficult customers, it went into 'lock down'. The very smarmy gay guy working there was being very humble when confronted by scum.

Our dear friend in St Vincents Hospital, Sydney, (no, there is not a hospital theme happening) has received a new heart and is doing well. I asked her if she felt a bit strange with someone else's heart, but she said no, and she is very focused on becoming mobile again. It is truly a remarkable thing.

But what a co-incidence. Her boss rang her from Europe where he is holidaying and one of his guests on his boat was Finona Coote, who was the first person in Australia to receive a heart transplant.

As you may or may not know, I live in a high rise apartment block with a view down St Kilda Rd. The Alfred Hospital is obscured by some big buildings but we do see helicopters, should I be more modern and hip, choppers?, arrive and depart. Sitting watching tv, there is a chopper arriving and/or departing once a night at least.

Sorta vaguely interesting, but you get very blase about it. But it does strike me, every time a chopper arrives or departs, there is a human tradegy happening.

Usually goes like this, see chopper, radio news tells of terrible car accident.

Has anyone of us never been touched by a road accident involving someone near to us?

But the patient arriving in the helicopter is in the best possbible care. I have great faith in The Alfred and there is not anywhere I would rather be than there if I was injured.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Being a retentive type person, I had my day off planned down to the letter. But the best laid plans of mice and men............

Friends with computer distress. I am no great expert, but I do know a wee bit about pcs and they were obviously in need of help and given they are using our old computer and the tech support person told them that it was inadequate for the task, that is email and web browsing, I felt very obliged to help. To quote our esteemed Johnny, Hello Hello. It worked ok for dial up internet and later cable for us, OK!!! Hello Hello!

It was no more difficult that a wrong setting in outlook express but it took a while to find. And god, how slow is dial up? After 5 years of broadband, I could not bear to go back to it. Rather do without altogether.

I am privileged elite, I have lcd screen, windows xp pro, big hard drive, fast computer. But I actually loved the experience of being online in the early to mid nineties. No-one else I knew was, well accept for smart friend in Sydney who was actually in Melbourne then, but then he only used RMIT computers. Windows 95 (remember the huge ad over the top of Bourke and Swanston St) , free internet for one year (yes well, if you could actually get a dial in line), 2 gigabite hard drive, impossible to fill said the salesman.

My beloved partner put up with all my changing from one isp to another. He trusted me to get it right and I pretty well did. I will save the rest of the story about isps for another time.

Monday, October 18, 2004

For perhaps more than 10 years my partner and I have been going to the now closed Cafe 151 in Commercial Rd, South Yarra. We have taken friends there. I have been on my own and with my own friends. It was a very relaxed place and with reasonable prices. We have had conversations with strangers, overheard juicy gossip and leered leacherously at some cute staff.

Of the many staff we saw come and go, most were very nice. I only got to know the original owners. There were a few times when we walked out when service was very slow, but we never held a grudge. At least once my bacon shattered into a million pieces (I am not American). I have had some coffee to die for and some lukewarm muck at different times.

Alhthough we have not been so often of late as there are so many other places to choose from, (and I expect others haven't either, hence its closure) I really miss Cafe 151.

There was a time I was known by Robin in 151, Chris in CJs hair salon, Rowland and Crusader at Hares and Heyenas, all the staff at Body Bronze, Warren at Outlook, Steve in CMs and Peter in the Beat Bookshop (at least he still remembers me). But life changes, your priorities change, you move on, they move on. What was once new and exciting, is now very blase.

With some very important exceptions, the same goes for friends........but leave that for another day.

My public diary, not my private one. I live in a highrise apartment building in inner Melbourne. My interests are varied but top of the list are old buildings, history and public transport. You will find plenty of personal experiences to read in my blog too. Just be aware I am not an historian, amateur or otherwise. While I make some effort to be accurate, I don't do proper methodical research so I advise you check all details on your own behalf should you wish to quote me. Your comments are very welcome, but try to be nice to my fragile yet overblown ego. I enjoy receiving email. You can find my eddress in my complete profile.